The Dirt Double is not going to happen. Kyle Larson wasn’t able to work his way into a main that would work with his schedule at the Chili Bowl. On Thursday night, Larson was fast, but two flips ended his run to compete in both the Wild West Shootout in New Mexico and Chili Bowl in Oklahoma. The NASCAR champ gave it his best try.
After the first flip of the night, Kyle Larson bounced back. His car was good to go as he worked his way into the A feature. He was ready to prove he could earn his way to the Saturday finale.
However, one thing led to another, a second flip did more damage to his car – so the run ends before it really gets started.
Due to scheduling conflicts, Kyle Larson will be racing in New Mexico by the time his first race comes around on Saturday at the Chili Bowl. A tough end for Larson, ultimately.
He worked his way into that A feature. But that was the last stop for him.
Kyle Larson is a talented race car driver, some believe he is the most talented American driver regardless of discipline. He’s able to wheel it in sprint cars, dirt Late Models, and of course, in NASCAR. He’s found success at every level and continues to impress fans.
Things just didn’t work out at the Chili Bowl. A last-second entry combined with a tough travel schedule was too much to overcome.
Kyle Larson will race Indy-Charlotte double in May
This all might have been a test run for Kyle Larson’s real Double Duty in May. The Indianapolis 500 and Coca-Cola 600 on the same day. 1100 miles of racing across IndyCar and NASCAR. He’s with Arrow McLaren in the Indy 500 and of course, Hendrick Motorsports in the 600, giving him great equipment for both events.
The anticipation for this event is only going to grow as the days, weeks, and months tick by. Kyle Larson is known for racing a ton. He’s always somewhere wheeling it around a track in something. This is a whole new level, though. Kurt Busch was the last one to even attempt it.
In many ways, Larson is seen as a modern-day Tony Stewart. His ceiling lies somewhere between Smoke and Mario Andretti, depending on who you ask. The point is, he’s a multi-discipline driver and has the accolades and results to back up much of the talk.
The double he is attempting for Indy and Charlotte is unlike anything he has ever done. It will put him on a national stage to either sink or swim. The legend of Kyle Larson will either grow or be damaged depending on his results.
If he is able to stay on the lead lap of both races, good. It’s great if he lands a top-5 in one race gets really close to top-10 in the other. That only gets better if he pulls off two top-10s or even two top-5s.
For now, we won’t even go into what happens if he somehow wins the 500 and then heads to Charlotte, a marathon of a race, where anything can happen. Even outperforming Stewart’s best finish of P6 at Indy and P3 at Charlotte would be a Herculean effort.
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